Spring manufacture



United States Patent [72] inventor lra W. Dickey Plymouth, Mich. [21App]. No. 673,905 [22] Filed Oct. 9, 1967 [45] Patented Dec. 15, 1970 [73] Assignee Lear Siegler, Inc.

Santa Monica, Calif. a corporation of Delaware [54] SPRING MANUFACTURE10 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

52 us. CI 140/107, 29/417,140/3 [5]] lnt.Cl B2lf27/l6 [50] Fieldol'Search 140/3, 107; 29/412, 417; 245/2, 6,1

[ 56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,472,290 10/1969 Sykes etal. 140/3 Primary Examiner-Lowell A. Larson AltorneyBarnard, McGlynn &Reising ABSTRACT: This invention relates to the manufacture of I springsutilized in beds, seating and other furniture. in accordance with theinvention separate spring sections are provided from a plurality ofinterconnected spring strips and each spring strip comprises an integrallength of wire defining alternate right and left handed spiral coils. ineach strip, a first or top end of each spiral coil is integrallyconnected to an adjacent spiral coil on one side thereof by a generallyU-shaped section and the second or bottom end of each spiral coil isintegrally connected to an adjacent spiral coil on the opposite sidethereof by another generally U-shaped section. Adjacent spiral coils ineach strip are hooked into mechanical interlocking engagement with oneanother and a plurality of helical coils interconnect adjacent strips bybeing disposed about legs of certain of the adjacent U-shaped sectionsin each strip. In accordance with the invention, the wire of each stripis severed along the base of a U-shaped section between adjacent firstand second spiral coils in each strip. The spiral coils between whichthe wire is severed are devoid of a helical coil about the legs of theadjacent U-shaped sections at the other ends thereof so that each of thefirst spiral coils is in the severed section and each of the secondspiral coils is in one of the strips. The strips are movedlongitudinally into the severed sections and the severed sections aredisposed at an inclined angle relative to the longitudinal axis of thestrip to move the second spiral coils into the first spiral coils of thesevered section to unhook the latter from one another so that thesevered section moves free of the strips thereby providing a completelyindependent spring section.

PATENTEU nun 519m SHEET 2 (IF 2 m N E V m SPRING MANUFACTURE Springassemblies to which this invention pertains are utilized in cushions,mattresses, bed springs, and other related environments. Until recently,the use of coil springs in such assemblies have been limited toindividual coils connected together by independent wires, straps or thelike. US. Pat. No. 3,188,845 discloses an apparatus for forming a singleintegral length of wire into a row or strip of alternately left andright handed coils which are integrally connected together, i.e., formedof a single integral piece of wire. A plurality of such rows areinterconnected to provide a spring assembly. Such a spring assembly andits fabrication is described and claimed in copending application Ser.No. 636,750, filed May 8, 1967, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,476,156, in the nameofJohn B. Simmons and assigned to the assignee of the instant inventionTo manufacture a spring assembly of the type to which the instantinvention pertains, a plurality of spring strips are fabricated witheach spring strip comprising an integral length of wire definingalternate right and left handed spiral coils. A first or top end of eachspiral coil in a strip is integrally connected to an adjacent spiralcoil on one side thereof by a generally U-shaped section and the secondor bottom end of each spiral coil is integrally connected to an adjacentspiral coil on the opposite side thereof by another generally U- shapedsection. Adjacent spiral coils in each strip are hooked into mechanicalinterlocking engagement with one another by hooking convolutions thereoftogether, this being possible since adjacent spiral coils have oppositeleads, i.e., right and left handed. A plurality of such spiral stripsare disposed in side-by-side relationship and are interconnected by aplurality of helical coils disposed about legs of certain adjacent U-shaped sections in each strip and extending across the plurality ofstrips. l-leretofore, in order to provide separate spring sections ofthe length desired from the interconnected strips, it has been thepractice to sever the integral wire of each of the adjacent strips andthereafter utilize a tool to unhook the adjacent spiral coils which havebeen severed. Usually the unhooking is accomplished manually. Such aprocedure is, of course, very time consuming, costly and otherwiseinefficient.

Accordingly, it is an object and feature of this invention to sever thestrips and dispose the severed sections relative to the spring strips sothat the adjacent spiral coils, between which the wire of each strip hasbeen severed, will automatically unhook from one another to provide acompletely independent section or spring assembly.

Another object and feature of this invention is to provide a separatespring section or assembly by severing adjacent spiral coils in therespective spring strips and thereafter disposing the severed section atan inclined angle relative to the longitudinal axes of the plurality ofstrips while moving the plurality of strips into the severed section sothat the spiral coils of the severed section automatically unhook fromthe spiral coils of the plurality of strips.

Other objects, features and attendant advantages of the presentinvention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes betterunderstood by reference to the following detailed description whenconsidered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. I is a fragmentary elevational view of a spring strip comprising anintegral length of wire'defining alternate right and left-handed spiralcoils;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing the spring strip after havingbeen severed with the severed section disposed at an inclined anglerelative to the longitudinal axis of the strip;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIGS. 1 and 2 but showing the severedsection completely detached from the main portion of the spring strip;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view looking downwardly at an angle ofapproximately 45 to the spring strip immediately after having beensevered;

FIG. 5 is also a perspective view looking downward at approximately 45"and showing the severed section disposed at an inclined angle relativeto the main portion of the spring strip as is shown in elevation in FIG.2; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view looking downward at approximately 45 andshowing the severed section being completely detached from the mainspring strip and, in addition, shows adjacent spring stripsinterconnected by a helical coil.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like numerals indicate like orcorresponding parts throughout the several views, there is showngenerally at 10 a spring strip of the type to which the instantinvention pertains.

A plurality of spring strips 10 are shown disposed in side-byside andinterconnected relationship in FIG. 6. Each spring strip 10 comprises anintegral length of wire defining alternate right and left-handed spiralcoils l2 and 13. A first or top end of each spiral coil is integrallyconnected to an adjacent spiral coil on one side thereof by a generallyU-shaped section I4. Each spiral coil, at the second or bottom end, isalso integrally connected to the adjacent spiral coil on the oppositeside thereof by another generally U-shape section 16. Each U- shapedsection, as illustrated in the preferred embodiment, includes a pair ofspaced parallel legs with an interconnecting base portion, the legsbeing integrally connected to the spiral coils at one end and the baseportion at the other end.

Adjacent spiral coils in each strip are hooked into mechanicalinterlocking engagement with one another. More specifically and as bestillustrated in FIGS. 1 and 4, the adjacent spiral coils 12' and 13 arehooked into mechanical interlocking engagement as indicated at 20 and22. The bottom convolution of the spiral coil 12 is mechanically hookedinto engagement with the bottom convolution of the spiral coil 13'whereas the upper convolution of the spiral coil 12' is hooked intomechanical interlocking engagement with the next adjacent spiral coil 13at the top thereof. It will be noted that the hooking engagement at 22is the result of the leg portions of adjacent U-shaped sections 16crossing one another while the hooking engagement at 20 is the crossingof a convolution of each of the adjacent spring strips. As alluded topreviously, the adjacent spiral coils are hooked into mechanicalinterlocking engagement with one another after the respective spiralcoils have been made, one method of hooking the adjacent spiral coilstogether being illustrated in the aforementioned US. Pat. No. 3,188,845.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, a plurality of strips 10 are disposed inside-by-side relationship and are interconnected by a plurality ofhelical coils 24. Each helical coil 24 is disposed about legs of certainadjacent U-shaped sections 14 and 16 in each strip. However, themechanical hooked engagement at 22 of legs of adjacent U-shaped sections16 is devoid of a helical coil 24. The helical coils 24 are disposed inposition after the adjacent coils in each spring strip are hooked intomechanical interlocking engagement. During this process a helical coil24 is not provided at certain distances along the plurality of strips.The helical coils 24 are not provided at certain positions along therespective strips and these positions depend upon the length of thesections, desired to be severed. In other words, if it is desired tomake box springs which are 6 feet in length, the strips will be severedat 6 feet intervals and therefore the strips will be devoid of a helicalcoil at 6 foot intervals.

As has been thus far described, therefore, a plurality of spring stripseach comprising identical lengths of wire defining alternate andright-handed spiral coils are disposed in side-byside relationship andinterconnected by a plurality of helical coils 24 to provide theassembly as illustrated in FIG. I. When the plurality of spring stripsare thus interconnected as illustrated in FIG. I, the plurality ofstrips are severed to provide separate sections in accordance with theinstant invention.

In accordance with the instant invention, the wire defining each springstrip is severed by an appropriate severing means or cutting instrumentsuch as that illustrated at 26. The wire of each spring strip may besevered in accordance with the invention set forth in the aforementionedpatent application Ser. No. 636,750. As illustrated, each spring stripis severed along the base portion of a U-shaped section 14. The wire issevered between adjacent first and second spiral coils I2 and I3 andthese spiral coils are devoid of a helical coil 24 about the legs of theadjacent U-shaped section 16 atthe other ends thereof as illustrated at22. Thus, each of the first spiral coils 13' is in the severed sectionand each of the second spiral coils 12 is in the unsevered or main stripportion.

After the strips have been severed as shown-in FIG. 1, the unseveredportion or strip portion containing the spiral coils 12' is movedlongitudinally into and toward the severed section containing the spiralcoils 13'. The plurality of strips containing the spiral coils 12' aremoved along a support means comprising a horizontal surface 28 and thereis included means comprising a second surface '30 for disposing thesevered section containing the spiral coils 13'- at an'injclined anglerelative to the longitudinal axis of the strips, as illustrated in FIGS.2, 4 and 5. The surface 30'is in a different plane than the plane of thehorizontal surface 28 and the-surface 30 is parallel to and below thehorizontal surface 28.

The severed section containing the spiral coils 13 is therefore disposedat an inclined angle relative-1o. the longitudinal axis of the stripcontaining the spiral coils 12 so that as the strips containing thespiral coils 12 are moved longitudinally they move into the spiral coils13, as best illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 5. As the spiral coils 12 moveinto the spiral coils 13, the

' spiral coils l3 become unhooked from the spiral coils 12' so that thesevered section moves in a direction which is transverse to thelongitudinal axis of the stripcontaining the spiral coils 12' or dropsdownward under the force of gravity to the completely disconnectedposition illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 6.

To recapitulate, each spring strip is severed at position opposite apair of adjacent U-shaped portions .16 which are not interconnected withadjacent spring strips by a helical coil 24 and the severed sectionisdisposed at an inclined angle relative to the .longitudinal axis of thespring strip. The spring ,strips, and thus the spiral coils 12', are'moved into the spiral coils 13 to the position illustrated in FIG.where'the severed .sections including the spiral coils 13"fall due togravity free from the spring strips'containing the spiral coils 12',thereby providing a completely independent section. Each indepen- 'dentsection is thereafter formed into a spring assembly such .disposed at aninclined angle upward from the spring strip so that as the spring stripsmove into the severed sections the :severed sections may be movedupwardly to provide a completely'independent section.

lclaim:

l. A method of providing separate sections from a continuous springstrip of an integral length of wire defining alternate right andleft-handed-spiral coils with coils of adjacent spirals hooked intomechanical interlocking engagement with one another, said methodcomprising; severing the wire between adjacent first and second spiralcoils to provide an indepen dent section with the first spiral coil insaid strip and the second spiral coil in said section; moving said striplongitudinally of itself so as to also-move said section, and disposingsaid section at an inclined angle relative to the movement of said stripso that said first spiral coil moves into saidsecond spiral coil tounhook the coils thereof from one another.

2. A method as set forth in claim 1 including moving said strip along asubstantially horizontal surface.

3. A method as set forth in claim 2 including disposing said section atan inclined angle downward relative to the direction of movement of saidstrip.

4. A method as set forth in claim'3 including allowing said section tounhook from said-strip by gravity.

5. A method as set forth in claim 2 including a plurality of said stripsdisposed in side-by-siderelationship and interconnected by a-p'luralityof helical coils and wherein said method includes severing the pluralityof strips,'moving the plurality of .strips,,and inclining theinterconnected sections to unhook the latter from the plurality ofstrips.

6. A method of providing separate sections from a plurality of springstrips each of which comprises an integral length of wire definingalternate right and left-handed spiral coils with a first end of eachspiral coil integrally connected to an adjacent spiral coil on one sidethereof by a generally U-shaped section and the second end ofeachspiralcoil integrally connected to an adjacent spiral coil on theopposite side thereof by another generally U-shaped section and withadjacent spiral coils of each strip hooked into mechanical interlockingengagement with one another and a plurality of helical coilsinterconnecting adjacent strips by being disposed about legs of certainadjacent U-shaped sections in each strip, said method comprisingsevering the wire of each strip along the base of a U- shaped sectionbetween adjacent first and second spiral coils which are devoid of ahelical coil about the legs of the adjacent U-shaped sections at theother ends thereof so that each of said first spiral coils is in saidsevered section and each of said second spiral coils is in said strip,moving the plurality of strips longitudinally and into saidsevered'se'ction,disposing said severed se'ctionvat an inclinedanglerelative to the longitudinal axis of said strips to move each ofsaidsecond spiral coils'into said first spiral coils to unhook thelatter from the second spiral coils thereby providing a completelyindependent section.

7. An apparatus for providing separate sections from a continuous springstrip of an integral length of wire defining alternate right andleft-handed spiral coils with coils of adjacent spirals hooked intomechanical interlocking engagement with one another; said apparatuscomprising, support means for supporting said strip for movementlongitudinally of itself, severing means for severing the wire betweenadjacent coils to provide an independent section, and means fordisposing said section at an angle inclined to the longitudinal axis ofsaid strip and allowing said section to move in a direction transverseto the longitudinal axis of said strip so that said section unhooks fromsaid strip as said strip is moved into the inclined section.

8. An apparatus as set forth in claim 7 wherein said support meanscomprises a horizontal surface.

9. An apparatus as set forth in claim 8 wherein said means for disposingsaid sectionat an angle and for allowing transverse movement of saidsectionincludes a second surface in a different plane than the plane ofsaid horizontal surface.

10. An apparatus as set. forth in claim 9 wherein said second surface isparallel to and below said horizontalsurface.

